Portable food warmer

ABSTRACT

An insulated, portable, hot food container maintains the temperature of cooked foods. The container has an insulated housing having an insulated base, insulated enclosing walls, and an insulated removable cover. The insulated removable cover engages the insulated enclosing walls to resist movement parallel to the insulated base. The insulated removable cover having grips to enable lifting of the insulated removable cover from the insulated base. The insulated base having grips to enable the container to be lifted and support both the insulated base and the insulated cover. A support carrier is inserted into and removed from the container, the support carrier having a base support surface and raised edges circumscribing the base support surface to restrict horizontal flow of liquids.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to portable devices and systems formaintaining the temperature of recently cooked or recently heated foods,especially solid foods, and most particularly solid foods such as meatscooked on a grill or open fire pit.

2. Background of the Art

Cooking of food on open heat cooking systems such as grills, fire pits,hibachis and barbecues is a popular way of preparing food, especiallymeats and fish. It is a simple way of preparing food that has asignificant social aspect to it. There are numerous problems with theprovision of foods from such open heat cooking systems. One of the moredifficult problems is that portions for different individuals mayrequire different cooking times and different seasoning. Often, morethan one type of food may be cooked on the open heat cooking system, andafter one course is done, there may be significant time left for thecompletion of cooking of other courses. The chef is faced with thelogistics of overcooking one course, undercooking another course, orallowing one course to cool while awaiting a final course to finishcooking.

A common way of attempting to address this problem is to put the firstcooked food on a plate and cover the plate with metal foil. This isactually counterproductive. Although the metal foil will help retainmoisture around the cooked food, it is a heat conductor, and will assistin allowing the cooked food to cool rapidly.

A system that can be carried to open heat cooking systems, help maintaintemperatures in cooked food, maintain moisture in cooked food, and bereadily cleaned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An insulated, portable, hot food container maintains the temperature ofcooked foods. The container has:

an insulated housing having an insulated base, insulated enclosingwalls, and an insulated removable cover;

the insulated removable cover engages the insulated enclosing walls toresist movement parallel to the insulated base;

the insulated removable cover having grips to enable lifting of theinsulated removable cover from the insulated base;

the insulated base having grips to enable the container to be lifted andsupport both the insulated base and the insulated cover; and

a support carrier that can be inserted into and removed from thecontainer, the support carrier having a base support surface and raisededges circumscribing the base support surface to restrict horizontalflow of liquids.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the container.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the container with the top removedand the support carrier exposed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An insulated, portable, hot food container maintains the temperature ofcooked foods. The insulating material used for the construction may beany food compatible structural material that can sustain contacttemperatures of at least 300° F. (180° C.). The material may be selectedfrom such commonly available materials such as plastic (especiallythermoset resins and phthalate-free and Bisphenol A-free polymers),ceramics, coated paper or coated fiber board, and composites. Preferredpolymers include acrylic polymers, polyurethane polymers, silicone(polysiloxane) polymers, epoxy resins, polyesters, polyamides and thelike. The insulation effect may be provided by the physical propertiesof the material itself, and/or structure provided to the materials, suchas insulating spacing between layers, foaming of the material,insulating layers between non-insulating layers, and the like. Thecontainer has an insulated housing having an insulated base, insulatedenclosing walls, and an insulated removable cover. The shape of thecontainer is optional, although the insulated base is preferably flat.The walls may form a square, rectangle, circle, oval and the like.

The walls of the container are preferably vertical or sloped outwardlyto provide increased ease of entry by user's hands and inserts into thecontainer. The walls are preferably resistant to absorption of organicvapors that can be released by cooked foods, especially fats and oilshat may volatilize from cooked meats or animal fats (e.g., butter). Aliner may be provided within the walls (covering only he walls or thewalls and the insulated base) to absorb the organic vapors or oils andprevent them from being absorbed onto the walls (and/or base), addfurther insulation capability and be disposable to assist in cleaning ofthe container. The cover sheet or liner may have a liner that sitsagainst the walls and base, and an absorbent insulating (e.g., fabric)material that faces the inside of the container. A removable liner mayalso be present inside the cover.

The insulated removable cover engages the insulated enclosing walls toresist movement parallel to the insulated base. This can be accomplishedby properly fitting and engaging the top of the walls and the bottom ofthe cover. This can be done by tongue and groove engagement, fittedledges, edges of the base of the cover overlapping the top of the walls(e.g., a groove in the base edges of the cover), top edges of the wallshaving a groove therein to receive the cover, and the like. Clips andlocks are not necessary because of the temporary nature of the coverageby the container, but may assist in preventing spillage or securingcomplete insulation of the interior of the container from the exteriorenvironment.

The insulated removable cover should have grips (handles or slots) toenable lifting of the insulated removable cover from the insulated base.The insulated base should have grips (handles or slots) to enable thecontainer to be lifted and support both the insulated base and theinsulated cover.

A support carrier can be inserted into and removed from the container,the support carrier having a base support surface and raised edgescircumscribing the base support surface to restrict horizontal flow ofliquids. The support carrier is preferably an easily cleaned surfacestructure, especially an upper surface that will support the cooked foodbetween the raised edges that surround the support surface. Smooth metalsurfaces, non-stick polymer coated surfaces, non-stick compositesurfaces and the like are preferred. The surface may be smooth or mayhave ridges and valleys to provide a drip catch surface within thesupport carrier. The support carrier may have a nesting site within thebase of the container to reduce slippage of the carrier. In any case,the support carrier should be easily grippable from within thecontainer. This may be enabled by having the lip (or at least twoopposed edges) of the support carrier extend above any nestingconfiguration in the support base, or by providing handles or gripsextending above the support carrier on opposed edges. The supportcarrier may be metal, metal coated substrate, ceramic, ceramic coatedsubstrate, polymer or combinations thereof. The preferred material is ametal support carrier, such as stainless steel or non-stick coatedmetal.

An alternative construction within the practice of the presenttechnology may include an insulated, portable, hot food containerhaving:

an insulated housing having an insulated base, insulated enclosingwalls, and a removable cover;

the insulated removable cover engages the insulated enclosing walls toresist movement parallel to the insulated base;

the insulated removable cover having at least one grip to enable liftingof the insulated removable cover from the insulated base;

the insulated base having grips to enable the container to be lifted andsupport both the insulated base and the insulated cover; and

a support carrier that can be inserted into and removed from thecontainer, the support carrier having a base support surface and raisededges circumscribing the base support surface to restrict horizontalflow of liquids.

The removable cover may be a metal cover that is not insulated, or ametal cover that has insulation thereon. The at least one grip on thecover may be a single handle on the top of the cover or two slots orhandles on opposed sides of the cover. An insulating liner may bepresent within the insulated housing and may be positioned between theinsulated base and the support carrier. The support carrier may be ametal structure and the raised edges may extend up at least 1 cm above aplane of a support surface on the support carrier. The inner surface ofthe insulated carrier may have a metal or non-stick surface coatingthereon.

Recourse to the Figures may provide a further understanding of thepresent invention and its various embodiments.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of the container 2 with an insulating housingbase 4 and a cover 6. The cover 6 is shown with a single handle 8 andthe base 4 is shown with a pair of opposed slots grips 10 on theexterior of the insulated container 2. A removable support carrier 12 isshown in a nesting area 14 within the housing base 4.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the container 2 with the cover (notshown) removed and the support carrier 12 exposed. Grips 16 for thesupport carrier 12 are shown.

Although specific examples are given of dimensions and materials, oneskilled in the art would be aware of the various alternative dimensions,materials and constructions that are within the generic scope of thepresent technology. The size of the container may be for small portionsand have length and with of at least 30 cm, or may be for much largerserving needs and be 50-100 cm in width and/or length.

1. An insulated, portable, hot food container comprising: an insulatedhousing having an insulated base, insulated enclosing walls, and aninsulated removable cover; the insulated removable cover engages theinsulated enclosing walls to resist movement parallel to the insulatedbase; the insulated removable cover having at least one grip to enablelifting of the insulated removable cover from the insulated base; theinsulated base having grips to enable the container to be lifted andsupport both the insulated base and the insulated cover; and a supportcarrier that can be inserted into and removed from the container, thesupport carrier having a base support surface and raised edgescircumscribing the base support surface to restrict horizontal flow ofliquids.
 2. The container of claim 1 wherein the support carrier nestswithin the insulated housing and when nested in the housing providesmanual gripping capability above the base and away from the walls of theinsulated housing.
 3. The container of claim 1 wherein the at least onegrip on the cover comprises a single handle on the top of the cover. 4.The container of claim 1 wherein the at least one grip comprises twoslots or handles on opposed sides of the cover.
 5. The container ofclaim 1 wherein an insulating liner is present within the insulatedhousing and is positioned between the insulated base and the supportcarrier.
 6. The container of claim 1 wherein the support carriercomprises a metal and the raised edges extend up at least 1 cm above aplane of a support surface on the support carrier.
 7. The container ofclaim 1 wherein an inner surface of the insulated carrier has anon-stick surface coating thereon.
 8. The container of claim 1 whereinan inner surface of the insulated carrier has a metal surface thereon.9. The container of claim 1 wherein the insulating housing comprises apolymeric material.
 10. The container of claim 9 wherein the polymericmaterial is a foamed polymeric material.
 11. An insulated, portable, hotfood container comprising: an insulated housing having an insulatedbase, insulated enclosing walls, and a removable cover; the insulatedremovable cover engages the insulated enclosing walls to resist movementparallel to the insulated base; the insulated removable cover having atleast one grip to enable lifting of the insulated removable cover fromthe insulated base; the insulated base having grips to enable thecontainer to be lifted and support both the insulated base and theinsulated cover; and a support carrier that can be inserted into andremoved from the container, the support carrier having a base supportsurface and raised edges circumscribing the base support surface torestrict horizontal flow of liquids.
 12. The container of claim 11wherein the removable cover comprises a metal cover that is notinsulated.
 13. The container of claim 11 wherein the removable covercomprises a metal cover that has insulation thereon.
 14. The containerof claim 11 wherein the at least one grip on the cover comprises asingle handle on the top of the cover.
 15. The container of claim 11wherein the at least one grip comprises two slots or handles on opposedsides of the cover.
 16. The container of claim 11 wherein an insulatingliner is present within the insulated housing and is positioned betweenthe insulated base and the support carrier.
 17. The container of claim11 wherein the support carrier comprises a metal and the raised edgesextend up at least 1 cm above a plane of a support surface on thesupport carrier.
 18. The container of claim 11 wherein an inner surfaceof the insulated carrier has a non-stick surface coating thereon. 19.The container of claim 11 wherein an inner surface of the insulatedcarrier has a metal surface thereon.